OECD Says Canadian Winter Bad For Economy

The harsh Canadian winter is playing havoc with the economy, but the OECD expects something of a rebound in the second quarter of the year.

“The United States and Canada are both also expected to experience an uneven pattern of growth in the near term, owing in part to the disruptive effect of repeated episodes of severe winter weather,” the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said today in its interim economic assessment.

“A number of activities were restrained by the storms and cold temperatures, which is likely to depress first-quarter GDP, with some bounce-back effect in the second quarter in the absence of further negative shocks.”

Canadians are, of course, used to wretched winters, but this one has been particularly ugly, as the OECD noted.

In its new report, the group forecasts first-quarter economic growth of just 0.5 per cent in the current quarter, but, given “one-off factors,” could not update its projection for the second quarter.

In November, it forecast second-quarter growth at 2.4 per cent.

According to the latest reading by Statistics Canada, the economy expanded in the fourth quarter at an annual pace of 2.9 per cent, though contracted 0.5 per cent in December, the month of an ice storm.

via Globe & Mail

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